Seddon hired to head global Millward Brown division

LONDON - British-born Joanna Seddon, one of the founders of FutureBrand, is to take up the role of executive vice-president at WPP Group's market research company Millward Brown.

Seddon will be based in New York, leading a new global unit that is charged with providing strategic recommendations to the agency's clients. She will report to Bob Meyers, global chief executive of the Millward Brown Group.

According to Meyers: "This new global unit, led by Joanna, will add a broader strategic and financial dimension to our offering by providing high-level portfolio strategy, brand valuation and analytics, marketing investment planning and ROI measurement to our clients."

Seddon was formerly executive vice-president of worldwide strategy and a founding partner of FutureBrand, part of the Interpublic Group. She has also worked as a consultant for brands such as Visa, AT&T and UPS.

Before moving into consultancy, Seddon held academic positions at Oxford and Manchester Universities, as well as visiting fellowships at Moscow and St. Petersburg Universities in Russia, and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.

At the same time, long-time Millward Brown executive Andy Farr has been appointed chief research officer of the unit.

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